Parallax Views w/ J.G. Michael

In this episode of Parallax Views, host J.G. Michael engages in a thought-provoking conversation with Palestinian American activist Greg Khalil, president and co-founder of the Telos Group. The discussion dives into the complex dynamics of the Israel/Palestine conflict, with a special focus on Christian Zionism and the Telos Group's efforts to build bridge between Palestinian activists and Evangelical Christians. Khalil offers insights into how faith, politics, and activism intersect in the region, challenging traditional narratives and exploring the role Evangelical Christian communities can have in peacebuilding initiatives. Tune in to explore how Telos is fostering understanding, promoting justice, and encouraging meaningful dialogue across deep-rooted divisions. Listeners will learn how the Telos Group came to be through an unlikely alliance between Khalil, a Palestinian American activist and lifelong Democrat, and Todd Deatherage, a conservative, evangelical Christian who worked at the State Department in the years of the George W. Bush Presidency. We'll learn about their efforts at peacemaking as well as dissecting how not all the evangelical community aligns with the politics of notable Christian Zionists like John Hagee.

On this edition of Parallax Views, historian William Hogeland joins the show to discuss his book, The Hamilton Scheme: An Epic Tale of Money and Power in the American Founding. Hogeland offers a critical examination of Alexander Hamilton, challenging the romanticized image of this influential Founding Father. The conversation explores Hamilton’s ambitious economic plans and his efforts to consolidate power through financial institutions, shedding light on the often-overlooked power struggles that shaped the early United States. As previously noted, Hogeland challenges the romanticized image of Hamilton, popularized by the hit musical Hamilton, and critiques the "Cult of Hamilton" that has emerged in recent years. The discussion explores Hamilton’s consolidation of power through financial institutions, his alliance with figures like Robert Morris—another Founding Father of the United States and a war profiteer—and the class struggles of the founding era, positioning "The Hamilton Scheme" against the working class of the era. Additionally, Hogeland critiques mainstream liberal "Obamaist" civics and the dominance of Clinton-era Third Way neoliberalism in the Democratic Party, particularly during Barack Obama's presidency, when economic policy was heavily influenced by figures like Tim Geithner. In this conversation, you'll find out how Hogeland views his book as "implicitly a thoroughgoing critique mainly from the left of mainstream liberal Obamaist civics regarding the US founding". The discussion also touches on the progressive vision of 18th century Christian, farmer, and activist Herman Husband, a stark contrast to Hamilton’s economic ideas, and how historians since WWII, like Douglas Adair, have downplayed class-oriented interpretations of America's founding in favor of the ideas and virtues of the Founders. We'll also discuss Hamilton's vision for an activist government vs. Herman Husband's vision for an activist government, Gore Vidal's take on Alexander Hamilton in his historical novel Burr, the neocons and Clinton Democrats that have embraced Hamilton in recent decades, neocons vs. paleocons/liberations on Hamilton, Charles Beard and revisionist historians on the American founding, and much, much more!

In this powerful episode of Parallax Views, host J.G. Michael speaks with Dr. Assal Rad about the mainstream media’s portrayal of the Gaza War and the ongoing anti-Palestinian bias in news coverage. Together, they break down the key narratives shaping how the public perceives the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and how media outlets like the New York Times are influencing those perceptions. Highlights include: Dr. Rad provides insight into how media bias affects public understanding of the Gaza War and what can be done to promote more balanced, human-centered reporting. This episode offers a critical examination of media coverage during one of the most significant ongoing conflicts in the Middle East.

On the edition of Parallax Views, sociologist Robert E. Bartholomew, co-author of Havana Syndrome: Mass Psychogenic Illness and the Real Story Behind the Embassy Mystery and Hysteria, returns to discuss the story that won't die: Havana Syndrome. Bartholomew dives deep into his recent Skeptical Inquirer piece, "Smoke and Mirrors: The 60 Minutes ‘Breakthrough’ on Havana Syndrome Exposed," critically analyzing the recent media coverage surrounding Havana Syndrome, particularly the claims made on CBS's 60 Minutes. During the discussion, Bartholomew breaks down the historical context of mass psychogenic illness and applies it to the mysterious symptoms experienced by U.S. diplomats and intelligence officers. He challenges the popular narrative attributing the syndrome to foreign attacks and explores how misinformation, hysteria, and media sensationalism may have played a significant role in shaping public perceptions. The episode sheds light on the evidence, or lack thereof, surrounding the Havana Syndrome phenomenon and emphasizes the importance of scientific skepticism when dealing with high-profile public health scares. Listeners interested in media criticism, psychological phenomena, and the intersection of science and public discourse will find this episode to be a compelling dive into the real story behind the embassy mystery. Tune in for an enlightening conversation that questions mainstream narratives and urges listeners to think critically about sensationalist headlines.

On this edition of Parallax Views, Henry Burke of the Revolving Door Project joins the show to discuss an article he co-wrote with Max Moran for The American Prospect entitled "What We Talk About When We Talk About the Revolving Door". Burke offers a critical examination of the revolving door phenomenon, where government officials transition into lucrative positions in the private sector and vice versa, often leading to conflicts of interest and the perpetuation of corrupt corporate practices. The conversation explores the urgent need to crack down on these unethical practices that undermine democracy and public trust. Burke and J.G. Michael also discuss journalist Matthew Yglesias' recent defense of the revolving door, and the criticisms Burke and Moran have of Yglesias' perspective. Ultimately, Burke argues that we need to challenge the normalization of the revolving door and calls for greater accountability in both corporate and governmental spheres. Other subjects that get mentioned on this episode include: populism vs. faux populism, Kamala Harris and her promises to go after price-gouging in regard to groceries, the targeting of Chairperson of U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Gary Gensler by corporate interests, the crypto industry, the Biden administration and progressive economic policies, and much more!

On this edition of Parallax Views, Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis, co-chair of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival and director of the Kairos Center for Religions, Rights, and Social Justice at Union Theological Seminary. Rev. Dr. Theoharis delves into her recent article for TomDispatch, The Nation, and Counterpunch, where she critiques the Heritage Foundation's controversial Project 2025, likening it to an American version of Pax Romana. Key topics include the rise of right-wing Christian Nationalism, the conflict between the Christian Left and the Christian Nationalist agenda, and the implications of Project 2025 for labor rights and the working class. The conversation also covers the intersection of militarism, the war on the poor, the ongoing crisis in Gaza, and bipartisan support for the military-industrial complex, which diverts resources from critical needs like healthcare and affordable housing. Additionally, the episode examines the influence of Pax Americana and parallel rises of Christian Nationalism and neoliberalism in the United States. We'll also discuss the social justice work that the Poor People's Campaign and Kairos Center are engaged in, especially during this year's election season.

On this edition of Parallax Views, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency's Asaf Elia-Shalev joins the show to discuss his riveting book, Israel's Black Panthers. This episode uncovers the untold story of Israel's Black Panthers, a radical Mizrahi movement from the 1970s, drawing critical parallels between the FBI's COINTELPRO and the Israeli security state's targeting of the Panthers. The discussion highlights the intense conflicts between Israel's Black Panthers and figures like Meir Kahane, Golda Meir, and the police, including the significant events of The Night of the Panthers and Operation Milk. Listeners will gain insights into the racism faced by Mizrahi Jews, the internal conflict between Mizrahi and Ashkenazi Jews, and how the Mizrahi community's political alignment shifted towards the right-wing Likud Party under Menachem Begin. The episode also explores the complex relationship between Israel's Black Panthers and Palestinians, and shines a spotlight on Reuven Abergel, one of the movement’s key co-founders. Essential listening for anyone interested in Middle Eastern history, social justice, and the dynamics of political activism.

On this edition of Parallax Views, San Francisco-based journalist Gil Duran, a former communications director for U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein & Kamala Harris (during her time as Attorney General), joins the show to discuss the big tech oligarchs backing Donald Trump, JD Vance, and MAGA this election season and their strange, science fiction-sounding techno-authoritarian vision for America. Gil Duran recently wrote two pieces in The New Republic that will form the basis for this conversation. The first, "Where J.D. Vance Gets His Weird, Terrifying Techno-Authoritarian Ideas", deals with JD Vance and the figure of Mencius Moldbug aka Curtis Yarvin, both of whom have a conneciton to Peter Thiel. Moldbug/Yarvin, for the uninitiated, is a key figure in the formation of what's come to be known as "Neo-Reaction" (NRx). Yarvin has promoted many ideas over the years, including the creation of corporate-controlled sovereign "realms" such as an imagined version of San Francisco called "Friscorps". These realms would essentially serve as panopticon-esque Orwellian surveillance systems. For example, in regard to his concept of Friscorps, Yarvin writes: “All residents, even temporary visitors, carry an ID card with RFID response. All are genotyped and iris-scanned. Public places and transportation systems track everyone. Security cameras are ubiquitous. Every car knows where it is, and who is sitting in it, and tells the authorities both.” We'll delve into Yarvin's ideas about patchworks, his strange writings about using humans as biodiesel fuel, and, most importantly, how his RAGE (Retire All Government Employees) plan bears similarties to Project 2025. And yes, as previously mentioned, we'll discuss how both Vance and Yarvin are tied to Peter Thiel. The second article, also from The New Republic, that informs much of Gil and I's discussion is entitled "The Tech Baron Seeking to Purge San Francisco of 'Blues'". That piece deals with the figure of venture capitalist Balaji Srinivasan and his rather right-wing, techno-authoritarian vision for San Francisco vis-a-vis a concept called the Network State. We'll delve into Srinivasan's ideas about the Network State as well as a concept he refers to as "techno-Zionism" and the conflict between what he calls the gray tribe (tech-loyalists) and the blue tribe (liberal voters). According to Duran, Srinivasan's vision involves purging Blues from San Francisco. “Take total control of your neighborhood. Push out all Blues. Tell them they’re ... unwelcome,” Srinivasan says, "Just as Blues ethnically cleanse me out of San Francisco, like, push out all Blues.” We'll dissect exactly what Srinivasan meant by that and much more. Additionally, Gil and I will delve into why these figures are fascinated by the figure of French philosopher Rene Girard and his writings on the scapegoat mechanism of mimetic theory, how these figures are influenced by the controversial legal theorist Carl Schmitt (who worked for the Nazis under Hitler's Third Reich) and Schmitt's concept of the Sovereign and the State of Exception, and much, much more. In other words, you'll be hearing episode pulling the curtain back on the Silicon Valley/venture capitalist right-wing in California and America more broadly.

On this edition of Parallax Views, Stan Cox, a regular contributor at TomDispatch and the author of The Path to a Livable Future: A New Politics to Fight Climate Change, Racism, and the Next Pandemic and The Green New Deal and Beyond: Ending the Climate Emergency While We Still Can, joins the show to discuss the article he recently co-wrote with Priti Gulati Cox entitled "Starvation in Sudan". We discuss the way in which both the RSF (Rapid Support Forces) paramilitaries and the government-backed SAF (Sudanese Army Forces) in Sudan having been using starvation as a weapon of war. Now, starvation is in full effect in Sudan with the Sudanese people caught in the middle of the RSF and SAF. It is, in a word, a massive humanitarian crisis that the U.S. has done little to stop. Even much needed humanitarian aid is not getting into Sudan at this point. Many Sudanese have already been displaced and the situation is getting worse by the day.

On this edition of Parallax Views, we delve into the explosive story of a software company and corporate landlords accused of engaging in a criminal conspiracy to artificially jack-up prices in the U.S. rental housing market. Lee Hepner of the American Economic Liberties Project joins the show to discuss the scandal-plagued software company RealPage and algorithmic price-fixing in the U.S. rental housing market as well as what was recently described in The Atlantic as the emerging "AI Price Fixing Dystopia". We'll talk about how the relationship between vacancies and rental prices has changed since the introduction of software of the kind RealPage is selling, the significance of the RealPage antitrust case, and how scandals like this tie into the issue of evictions and homelessness. We'll also delve into broader issues related to cartels and the threat monopoly capital poses to U.S. consumers, the Google antitrust lawsuit and Judge Amit Mehta ruling that Google is a monopolist in violation of antitrust laws, the significance of the Google antitrust lawsuit and what could come of it, the Federal Trade Commision's Lina Khan and Department of Justice Jonathan Kanter & the antirust project, how price fixing also ties into food and airline prices, countering anti-antitrust propaganda, the concept of "greedflation" as the cause of inflation, and much, much more.

On this edition of Parallax Views, a few short months ago I had the opportunity to speak with Moshe Machover amidst the horrors we are seeing in Gaza. for the unfamiliar, Moshe Machover has become known as "The First of the Last Israeli Anti-Zionist". Born in Tel Aviv when Israel was still British Mandate Palestine, Machover was one of the founders of Matzpen, Officially known as the Socialist Organisation in Israel, Matzpen were a group of Israelis who broke away from Maki, the Israeli Communist Party. Matzpen believed in radical, left-wing, revolutionary politics and were proponents of anti-Zionism from a socialist perspective. On September 22, 1967, three months after Six-Day War that ended with the Israeli capture and occupation of the Sinai Peninsula, the Golan Heights, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem, an ad appeared in the pages of the Israeli publication Haaretz. A Declaration of only 52 words in length, it read: Our right to defend ourselves from extermination does not give us the right to oppress others. Occupation entails foreign rule. Foreign rule entails resistance. Resistance entails repression. Repression entails terror and counter-terror. The victims of terror are mostly innocent people Holding on to the occupied territories will turn us into a nation of murderers and murder victims Let us get out of the occupied territories immediately. The ad was accompanied by a number of signatures, including Moshe Machover. In this conversation we'll discuss that declaration as well as Machover's analysis of influential Revisionist Zionist Vladimir Jabotinsky's seminal text The Iron Wall. Machover wrote a translation of the infamous Jabotinsky essay for Jewish Voice for Labour that can be read here. In addition to discussing Matzpen, the 1967 Declaration that appeared in Haaretz, and Jabotinsky's Iron Wall we will also delve into why Moshe, as a socialist, opposes Zionism and his socialist analysis of Israel in relation to the phenomena of colonialism. Moshe describes colonization as "like a gas" that seeks to occupy all available space and continually expand.

On this edition of Parallax Views, Scott Horton of the Scott Horton show and author of such books as Fool's Errand: Time to End the War in Afghanistan and Enough Already: Time to End the War on Terrorism returns to discuss the ongoing fundraising campaign for his non-profit, The Libertarian Institute. We talk about a number of issues including the OKC bombing, Waco, federal entrapments plots, the co-opting of antiwar politics by right-wing hawks-posing-as-doves, Peter Thiel and the oligarchic war machine, where Scott disagrees with realist John Mearsheimer's assessment of conflict between the U.S. and China, and much, much more. This is a pretty free-flowing conversation that goes down some interesting avenues, particularly if you're interested in the OKC bombing and Waco, but also for the criticisms Scott makes of the National Conservatism movement that previous guests on Parallax Views such as Kelley Vlahos and James W. Carden have made recently.

On this edition of Parallax Views, Creamhound's Walker and Z. Behl joins the show to discuss their TrueAnon-approved, controversy-stirring, and darkly humorous board game Storm the Capitol. Described cheekily as "Insurrection in a Box!", Storm the Capitol allows you to relive the madness of the January 6th Capitol attack as either a MAGA "patriot" that needs to help Donald Trump "Stop the Steal" or a member of the Capitol police trying to stop them. Needless to say, some have been offended by the game, even assuming that it's a pro-MAGA board game. A look at the game, however, reveals that it's a satirical poke-in-the-eye to our politics-as-pro-wrestling media circus spectacle with its darkly, even gallows-esque, sense of humor rather than an endorsement of MAGA or the January 6th insurrection. We'll discuss the game, its mechanics, how it came to be during the days of the pandemic, the reactions to and controversy stirred up by the game, the lameness of moral tut-tutting about the game, the influence of punk rock on the game, and some of the game's jokes about QAnon, MAGA's alleged obsession with Alexandria Ocasio Cortez's feet, indie rockers (cough... Ariel Pink... cough) who participate in the January 6th Capitol attack, the QAnon shaman, and more. Yes, a lot of horrible things happened on January 6th. But it was also a day where a guy dressed in face paint carrying a spear and animal headdress stormed the capitol building. It was like something out of a David Lynch movie. A completely surreal, absurd moment in American history. And there's something darkly comical about that absurdity. Which is what made it perfect fodder for a satirical board game. We'll discuss all that and much more on this edition of the show.

On this edition of Parallax Views, Emily Peterson-Cassin of the Demand Progress Education fund joins the program in the first segment to discuss the landmark decision made in the Google antitrust lawsuit that saw a judge declare that Google is a monopolist. This is a major win for the antitrust movement and those seeking to challenge monopoly capitalism in America. We'll discuss what this means as well as why anti-trust is important for consumers and workers as well as society as a whole. Additionally, we'll discuss the billionaire attacks on FTC chair Lina Khan by billionaires like Reid Hoffman who dislike her antitrust agenda. Recently, Hoffman donated millions to the Kamala Harris campaign and then went on TV to talk about how he'd like to see Khan sacked form the FTC. Supporters of Khan have accused using his status as a mega-donor to curry favor with the Harris campaign in the hopes that a Harris administration will repay him by removing Khan from her position. We'll discuss all of this as well as the work Khan and Jonathan Kanter of the DOJ's Antitrust Division have done over the past four years of President Joe Biden administration. We'll also discuss how Khan, Kanter, and others have inspired a new generation of antitrust enthusiasts that want to break up concentrated corporate power's grip on America. In the second segment of the show, The American Prospect's Macy Stacher joins the show to discuss his article, "Waffle House Workers Challenge the Southern Economy". Waffle House workers are fighting back against ridiculously low, non-livable wages as well as lack of safety at their jobs, wage theft, meal deductions policies, and, overall, labor policies of the Jim Crow-era that have persisted in today's American South. You may have heard about the phenomena of "Waffle House Fights" that go viral on Twitter and garner chuckles in social media, but what is happening to Waffle House workers who face safety risk and a lack of concern from corporate office in Atlanta when it comes to their needs and rights is no laughing matter. We'll discuss how the Union of Southern Service workers are changing all that and the struggles that Waffle House workers like Cindy Smith, who is prominently featured in Macy's article, face regularly. Macy will also explain how the Atlanta HQ of Waffle House locked out protesting workers and threw out their petition. But even with all the grimness of what these workers face, we'll also delve into the successes they've been able to achieve especially in regard to wages recently. All that and more on this edition of Parallax Views.

On this edition of Parallax, "America's angriest political cartoonist" Eli Valley joins the show to discuss his upcoming book The Museum of Degenerates: Portraits of the American Grotesque, available for pre-order now from OR Books, and his savage comics/cartoons that offer biting, scathing, acidic critiques of American political life and public figures like Donald Trump, Benjamin Netanyahu, Ben Shapiro, Joshua Shapiro, Abe Foxman, and many others. Although the focus of this episode isn't on Israel/Palestine and what is happening in Gaza or the West Bank specifically, it certainly lingers in the background and informs the discussion given how Eli's own views on the matter. In this conversation we'll discuss the influence of horror comics like EC Comics' Tales from the Crypt & the pulp-noirs of the 20th century on his cartoon style, Jewish authenticity and the influence of Jewish culture and intellectual thought on Valley's work, the Jewish American radical/progressive tradition, Netanyahu's speech to Congress, the rage that informs Eli's cartoons, right-wing American Jewish public figures aligning themselves with antisemites, the ADL, the role of the grotesque aesthetic in Eli's work, Eli's infamous cartoon lampooning Meghan McCain's appropriation of Jewish identity, Joshua Shapiro comparing pro-Palestinian protesters to the KKK, the Jewish American right-wing vs. Jewish American progressives, misconceptions people have about Eli's work, the disingenuousness of claims that Tim Walz was chosen a Kamala Harris' VP pick over Shapiro because of the antisemitism in the Democratic Party, has Eli paid a price for the approach he's taken to political cartoon (and, if so, has that price been worth it), and much, much more! A sampling of Eli Valley's cartoons. These lampoon, in order, Donald Trump, Ben Shapiro, Joshua Shapiro, and Meghan McCain:

On this edition of Parallax Views, New York University Gallatin School of Individualized Study's Prof. Alejandro Velasco, author of Barrio Rising: Urban Popular Politics and the Making of Modern Venezuela, joins the show to discuss the controversial Venezuela elections and the ways in which analysis of the elections and the modern history of Venezuela from U.S. commentators of the Left, the Rigth, and the Center has proven facile. Prof. Velasco, argues that the picture is more complex than either those on the Right who believe Maduro is being couped by an orchestrated color revolution, those on the Right who believe Biden's easing of sanctions has led Nicolás Maduro to consolidate more power in Venezuela, and Centrists who argue all Venezuela's problems are contingent on the legacy of Hugo Chavez. The recent Venezuelan election resulted in much controversy, with even Chavistas being upset with Maduro and footage of resident of the Venezuelan barrios, the urban streets from which Chavismo have traditionally garnered much support from ordinary people, dissenting after the election results were announced. The election results which led to Maduro being declared victorious are believed by a number of different parties. The Carter Center, for example, has said that the elections "cannot be considered democratic". Protest have erupted in the streets of Venezuela's capitol, Caracas. Given the history of coup attempts in Venezuela, many Leftists in the U.S. and internationally the controversy around this election is actually just U.S.-directed dirty tricks. Prof. Velasco offers a different analysis while also directly addressing the problems with the virulently anti-Chavista elements that lay the blame for all of this on the deceased Chavez. We'll discuss all of this as well as the effect of U.S. sanctions in Venezuela, how Maduro ignored warnings from left-wing economists about how his policies would cause inflation in Venezuela, why Prof. Velasco takes issue with historian and pundit Anne Applebaum's analysis of Venezuela and Hugo Chavez, how this year's election in Venezuela is different than previous elections, the National Electoral Council and the lack of precinct-by-precinct data released in the aftermath of this election, Hugo Chavez's concept of a "socialism for the 21st century", misperceptions about private property in Venezuela, Venezuela's economy and oil, Chavez vs. Maduro, the continuities between Chavez and Maduro and the even more important differences between Chavez and Maduro, material incentives for the Maduro government clinging to power, police raids and discontent in Venezuela, and much, much more.

NOTE: Record 5/29; Released 8/2/24; subject matters deal with history as well as current events that are still unraveling before us now; also Producer's Credits on this episode were recorded in July so if you are a new $10 or above tier subscriber on Patreon you'll hear your producer's credit on the next episode. On this edition of Parallax Views, Paul R. Pillar, a 28-year veteran of the CIA and a non-resident fellow at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, returns to discuss his incredibly interesting book, Beyond the Water's Edge: How Partisanship Corrupts U.S. Foreign Policy. You're probably thinking that's an incredibly academic title that indicates a rather dry survey of how Republicans and Democrats have handled U.S. foreign policy over the years in ways that were more driven by ideological concerns rather than National Security interests. But while Pillar's book is a scholarly examination of those issues, one should not mistake the book for being a boring look at these matters. Which is to say that Pillar exposes all kinds of skullduggery related to how political partisans, especially on the Republican side of the spectrum but also encompassing the Democratic Party as well, when it's come to U.S. foreign policy over the years. Case in point: there's an entire section on the October Surprise. For those unfamiliar the October Surprise was an alleged plot by the Ronald Reagan campaign to pay of the Iranians to not release the hostages of the Iran hostage crisis until after the election in order to sabotage Jimmy Carter's reelection chances. Paul and I will cover that as well as skullduggery related to Richard Nixon and the Vietnam war. And by the end of the conversation, we'll delve into the ideological underpinning of the neoconservatives that made up the George W. Bush administration and pushed America into the Iraq War. Additionally, we'll discuss Donald Trump, Russiagate, George HW Bush's showdown with AIPAC on Israel, how Wilson and FDR dealt with WWI and WWII, Israel/Palestine, and a number of other issues. I won't give away all the subjects we cover because this is one you really just need to listen to.

On this edition of Parallax Views, I was asked by a listener to have a guest on that could offer a critique of Lichtman, who appeared on my show recently, and his model. So on this edition of the program, The Postrider's Lars Emerson joins the show to discuss Allan Lichtman's 13 Keys to the White House model for predicting Presidential elections. The Postrider is a small media outlet run by two American University alumni, but has recently gained some attention for their critique of Lichtman's model. We'll discuss the nature of their critique in this model. Additionally, Lars and I will discuss his writing on the "Rust Belt or Bust" mentality talked about by Democrats during election seasons dn whether this will hold true in coming elections, especially by the 2030s. We'll also discuss the Sunbelt in this regard. And finally, we'll talk about the Postrider's tool for determining what potential Democratic Vice-Presidential candidate would make for the strongest ticket alongside Harris this election. Links: Allan Lichtman is Famous for Correctly Predicting the 2016 Election. The Problem? He Didn’t (thepostrider.com) Letter: Allan Lichtman’s Response (thepostrider.com) Is the Biden Campaign Really Relying on the Debunked 13 Keys to Make This Decision? (thepostrider.com) When Will the Rust Belt’s Electoral Supremacy End? (thepostrider.com) Is the Rust Belt Still the Lowest Hanging Fruit for Biden? (thepostrider.com) The 2024 (Emergency) Democratic Vice Presidential Power Index (thepostrider.com)

On this edition of Parallax Views, Pulitzer Prize winning reporter David Cay Johnston has becomes widely known for his reporting on Donald Trump. He first reported on Donald Trump in 1988 and his since written three books on the former President: The Making of Donald Trump (2016), It's Even Worse Than You Think: What the Trump Administration is Doing to America (2018), and The Big Cheat: How Donald Trump Fleeced America and Enriched Himself and His Family (2022). Before writing those books on the MAGA movement leader, however, David wrote about what he refers to as the "hidden-in-plain sight system we have that takes from the money and redistributes to the very few". Turns out, there's a connective tissue between Davide's books on Trump and his reporting on that hidden system. Namely, David says, Trump is the embodiment of that system. In this interview, David and I will delve into how his books Temples of Chance: How America Inc. Bought Out Murder Inc. to Win Control of the Casino Business (1992), Perfectly Legal: The Covert Campaign to Rig Our Tax System to Benefit the Super Rich—and Cheat Everybody Else (2003), Free Lunch: How the Wealthiest Americans Enrich Themselves at Government Expense and Stick You With The Bill (2007), The Fine Print: How Big Companies Use "Plain English" to Rob You Blind (2012), and Divided: The Perils of Our Growing Inequality (2014). We'll delve into Trump's pro-corporate, anti-working class agenda; some of the specific mechanism that have been used to make massive wealth transfer to the rich at the expense of the working class and poor since Reagan; the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025; the Build the Wall charity scam; President Joe Biden, the U.S. economy, inflation, job creation, and wage increases; Trump's views on minimum wage not being pro-worker; Trump's reverse Robin Hood tax policy and tax cuts to the rich; the problem with big mainstream media today and why the legacy media outlets don't intensively cover issues effecting everyday Americans enough; the warping of the campaign finance system since the Watergate scandal; how the donor class became so powerful in the American political system; a history lesson going back to the Civil War through to the Nixon years and beyond on how we got to this moment; the Supreme Court decisions that helped shaped politics in favor of big business; the poverty found in low-tax societies and David's reporting on "hidden taxes" in Singapore; the modern world's need for investments in public infrastructure and the creation of common wealth that benefits all; issues facing the education system today and how failing literacy rates in America are ruining the American political system; China's innovations in education and what it means for America; and much, much more! This is by far the best interview of had with David Cay Johnston.

UPDATE: Intro fixed; made a mistake in editing some of the extracted audio that's used to introduce the first segment. Brief sample from another show that I edited incorrectly and ended up being longer than it was supposed to be. On this edition of Parallax Views, another double feature with two guests. First up, if there's any interview you listen to on my show this week make it this one, folks. David Dayen, executive editor of The American Prospect and author of Monopolized: Life in the Age of Corporate Power, joins the show to discuss his important article "The Corporate Wishcasting Attack on Lina Khan". Lina Khan was apponted by President Joe Biden to chair the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). In this role Khan, alongside the Antitrust Division of the Justice Department's Jonathan Kanter and others, has attempted to take on big tech, corporate power, and monopoly capitol in America. Billionaire LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman is apparently not happy about this because after donating $8.6 million to Super PACs supporting Democratic Presidential candidate Kamala Harris has claimed Khan is “waging war on American business” and pushed for a Harris administration to dump her as FTC chair. Dayen and I will discuss why billionaires like Hoffman are so opposed to Harris and those who support strengthening antitrust laws and their enforcement in the U.S. We'll also discuss what Dayen argues the billionaire anti-antitrust crowd are leaving out about how Khan's agenda benefits working people over corporate profits. Although some reports indicate that Harris is skeptical of Khan's antitrust agenda and may as a result remove her, Dayen cautions that we don't know what a Harris administration will do with the antitrust agenda that has been ushered in by the Biden administration in recent years. Nonetheless, he argues that supporters of the antitrust movement should mobilize in support of Lina Khan now. Recently, a number of organizations, including the AFL-CIO and NAACP, signed a letter in support of Khan. At the end of the conversation we also discuss Dayen's latest article in "The Only Member of Congress Who Has Worked for Kamala Harris" in which he interviewed former Rep. Katie Porter who worked with Kamala Harris about her thoughts on how Harris will deal with big business and corporate interests. In the second segment of the show, the Revolving Door Project's Chris Lewis joins the show to discuss his American Prospect article, "The Dangerous Authoritarian Gunning to Serve as Trump’s Grand Vizier". Chris and I take a closer looks at the figure of Trump loyalist and Christian nationalist Russ Vought, founder of the Center for Renewing America. Vought worked for the Trump administration from the director of the Office of Management and Budget from July 2020 to January 2021. Since then, he has become involved in the saga of the controversial Project 2025. Chris explains Vought's beliefs and rather authoritarian, even anti-constitutional or post-constitutional views on America. Additionally, Chris and I delve into the Project 2025 Schedule F scheme that would allow the President to sack numerous civil servants in various federal agencies to replace them with loyalists. Theoretically, this could lead to cranks with no knowledge in an agency's expertise in key positions they are not equipped to be in. In other words, imagine Infowars' Alex Jones, who has promoted using colloidal silver as supplement to counter coronavirus (despite the dangers of colloidal silver consumption), in a key position at the FDA.